Community planner and city and village layout kit



June 28, 1960 M. GRAIN 2,942,354

COMMUNITY PLANNER AND CITY AND VILLAGE LAYOUT KIT Filed April 19, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. l [az% Gram ATTORNEY is 2, E960 M. GRAIN Z 925 COMMUNITY PLANNER AND cm AND VILLAGE LAYOUT KIT Filed April 19, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 45' FIGH5 INVENTOR.

BY JWrk Grain ATTORNEY United States Patent O 2 4 4 COMMUNITY PLANNER AND crrY AND VILLAGE LAYOUT KIT Mark Grain, 11 E. 97th st, New York, N.Y. Filed Apr. is, .1956, Ser. No. 579,343

3 Claims. (01.35-7) This invention relates to model community layouts assembled from street, building and other units, and, more particularly, to a layout including units provided with longitudinally spaced recesses along their base edges for receiving cement to secure the units into a unitary layout assembly.

'An object of the invention is to provide units which can be rapidly assembled to form communities such as villages or cities. 7

In accordance with the invention, street simulating units are formed of strips of plastic or the like configured or imprinted on the upper surface to simulate roadways and sidewalks. The side edges, and preferably the end edges are formed with spaced holes or recesses, and theouter edges of the sidewalks are notched with scale marks. Building units, front walk units, lawnsimulating units, and other model units have their base side edges formed with similar recesses.

The layout is assembled by placing the street sections on a flat surface and then positioning the outer units therealong utilizing the scale notches.- When the final layout is determined, cement is applied to fill the recesses and the units are secured together by pressing them laterally toward each other with the modulus holes aligned.

For an understanding of the invention principles, reference is made to the following description of a typical embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawing. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a model community layout embodying the invention; a

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a model street" section;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a model building;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a model lawn section; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a model front walk section.

Referring to the drawing, a model community layout, as illustrated in Fig. 1, is assembled using street, walk, lawn, building, and other units typical examples of which are illustrated in Figs. 2 through 5. Each of'the units has longitudinally spaced holes, recesses or depressions along the edges of its base, to receive deposits of cement for securing the units selectively into a unitary layout, such as illustrated in Fig. 1.

The layout is assembled by first positioning at least one main stree unit in a desired location, a typical street unit being shown at '10 in Fig. 2. Street unit or section may be formed of plastic, wood, or other suitable relatively rigid material. The lower or supporting surface of section 10 comprises parallel, elongated ribs 11 along each side edge which support the roadway 12 and sidewalks 13, marked or impressed on an upper span or section 14, above the base, such as a floor or panel, on which the layout is assembled. Roadway 12 may be depressed below sidewalks 13 to form a trough, thus providing curbs.

In accordance with the invention, the side edges of section 10, which may be about 7 high or thick are "ice formed with longitudinally spaced holes, depressions, or recesses 15.- These may be, for example, about ,3 wide'and deep. Also, in a typical example, the principal street sections 10 may be 78" wide and 5" 'long, the subsidiary street and alley section 1% being narrower and preferably somewhat shorter.

As a further feature of the invention, one or both sidewalks 13 are provided with uniformly spaced notches along the outer edge, these notches forming a scale for properly positioning the building, walk and lawn sections along the streets, as well as for uniformity in the positioning of alleys and cross streets as to intersections. The holes 15 may be provided along the end edges of section 10, 10' for joining these sections in end-to-end or intersecting relation. Scale notches 16 may be actual ruler marks; that is, actual inch and fraction of an inc marks as in a scale or ruler.

Fig. 3 illustrates a typical oflice building or skyscraper unit 20. This may be one piece or may comprise superposed single or multiple floor sections. In accordance with the invention, the base 21 of building unit 20 has holes or recesses 25 spaced therealong, corresponding to recesses or holes 15. Unit 20 is typical of other building units, such as private houses 20, for example, each of which has the spaced recesses along its base. The building units are made of the same material as units 10.

Fig. 4 illustrates a typical lawn section used in the residential areas of the layout. These are relatively fiat pieces having the same thickness as the street units and with the upper surfaces imprinted or decorated, as at 31, to simulate a lawn. The edges of units 30 have the recesses 35 uniformly spaced therealong to align with recesses I15 and 25. The lawn units 30, in plan, may be various sizes and shapes as necessary or desirable.

The front walks of houses in the residential area are provided by units 40, as shown in Fig. 5. These are the same material and the same thickness as units 10, 20 and 30, and are formed along their sides with recesses 45 in the same manner as described. The upper surfaces of units 40 may be suitably imprinted or impressed, if desired, to simulate various types of front walks.

To complete the kit for. assembling the layout of Fig. 1, other fiat pieces 50 simulating railroad tracks, rivers, ponds, parking lots and the like, may be provided, these units being formed in the same manner as units 30, for example.

In assemblying the layout of Fig. 1, the several units are initially movably positioned on a flat surface by first positioning the street sections 10, 10' and then positioning the other units along the streets using the scale notches 16 (Fig. 2). After all the units are in their final positions, recesses 15, 25, 35, 45 etc. are filled with a suitable quick setting cement from a suitable collapsing tube dispenser, and juxtaposed units are pressed into firm contact to se "the layout.

By the term modulus recesses, as used in the claims, is meant that the longitudinal spacing of the recesses 15 on the side of the several sections is the same on all sections, and that recesses 15 are always at the same height above the base of a section so that, when two sections are in edge to edge abutment, their respective recesses may readily be aligned with each other.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from suchv and ofistreet structure and plot simulating units formed with longitudinally spaced recesses along their edges; said ofistreet units being selectively positionable along the street units by reference to said scale. notches; whereby said units may be joinedinto a layout by filling the recesses with a sealing adhesive and pressing. juxtaposed units into engagement with; the modulus recesses:

aligned.

2. A kit as claimed in claim; 1 in which said ott'street:

units comprise flat strips simulating; front walks and lawns; and blocks simulating buildings and having the modulus recesses along the edges of their bases.

3. A kit as claimed in claim 1 in which said' street strips have upper surfaces simulating roadways and side: walks; the upper surfaces being supported on parallel longitudinal ribs extending along: the undersurfaces of the strips at each side thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gramelspacher Aug. 6, Lamphier June 4, Bemis May 29, Rutherford Nov. 19, Colby June 9, Skindzier June. 13, Pinney Aug. 16, Rorer Feb. 11, Armbright Aug. 13, Cilvkinetal Oct. 31,

OTHER; REFERENCES Science Illustrated, December 1946 (periodical), page 92 only, article on Liquid Nails." 

